Corindhap

Corindhap is a rural village 35 km south of Ballarat and a few kilometres north of Rokewood. It is thought that the name was derived from an Aboriginal word which was descriptive of the place.

The village is about 300 metres east of the Frenchman’s and Break O’Day gold leads, and the village was known as Break O’Day until after the mid-1860s. (Prior to then Corindhap was the name of the parish.)

Gold was discovered in 1856-57, the most southerly of a series of mining areas stretching from Ballarat. A hotel and a school were opened in the early 1860s. Within less than 20 years the Victorian municipal directory recorded that mining had lately much fallen off, but a large area of land had been selected for farms. This made for a moderate but stable population, supporting a Presbyterian church, a couple of hotels and a mechanics’ institute (which had been the village’s first school, and lasted until the 1920s.)

In 1903 Corindhap was described in the Australian handbook:

The mechanics’ institute was replaced by a memorial hall, and in 1985 the school closed. Corindhap is entirely agricultural, with an Anglican church, the Break O’Day hotel and a public hall, but within easy reach of a general store and other facilities in Rokewood. There are several examples of fine bluestone roadwork, an avenue of honour and a war memorial. Corindhap’s census populations have been: